MINISTER GRANIC'S STATEMENT ON NEW UN MANDATE IN CROATIA

ZAGREB, April 1 (Hina) - Resolution 981 on the new UN mandate in Croatia is the strongest political document adopted by the Security Concil in Croatia's favour, Croatian Foreign Minister and Deputy Premier, Mate Granic, said today in a statement for Hina and Croatian Radio and TV. "UN Security Council Resolution 981 reflects the spirit of the Copenhague agreement, the Washington and New York talks conducted by President Tudjman and Conclusions of the Croatian Parliament," Granic said. "There is no more UNPROFOR. UNPROFOR's mandate in Croatia is over. There are no more UN Protected Areas, there is no more Yugoslavia in the Resolution - this is a new mandate of peace- keeping forces in Croatia," Granic said. "This resolution strongly reaffirms the territorial integrity and sovereignty of the Republic of Croatia. It also introduces mechanisms for the control of Croatian borders. The Vance plan is no longer a basis for the new resolution, which only contains certain elements of that plan, such as the return of refugees and demilitarisation. This resolution also introduces certain important elements, namely the cease-fire agreement and the economic agreement. All this points to the process of peaceful reintegration. The resolution calls on Belgrade to recognise Croatia within its internationally recognised borders, and on the other hand, it directs Knin to enter into negotiations on political issues and peaceful reintegration." Asked what were the next steps to be taken, as the Resolution did not specify the operational side of the mandate, Granic said: "This is a political resolution and the next steps will be intensive negotiations with the Secretary-General and his envoys in the next three weeks. After that, the secretary-general will propose an operational resolution to the Security Council, which will be adopted before the end of the month." Granic stressed the weight and importance of the speeches of Security Council members after the passage of the resolution. "These speeches reflect the spirit of the resolution, but also suggest the future behaviour of Security Council members. I refer particularly to positive accents in the speeches by German, US, British, French, Czech and Italian representatives, who have taken a very positive view of this reoslution. Also, many countries emphasised the wisdom and statemanship of President Tudjman's decision to accept a new mandate of peace-keeping forces that will accelerate the peace process in Croatia." Asked whether political negotiations were among the next steps to take, Minister Granic said that was the very essence of the resolution. "This means the monitoring of the existing agreements, the control of Croatia's internationally recognised borders and political talks on local autonomy for Croatian Serbs, naturally in the 11 municipalities with a pre-war Serb majority. The next steps also include the observance and implementation of all terms of the economic agreement. This resolution practically points the way to the peaceful reintegration, to negotiations. For this, we have the support of the entire international community," Granic concluded. (hina) jn as 011443 MET apr 95